Rotary toothbrush



Oct 29, 1940- A. F. PRUNER ROTARY '.TOOTHBRUSH Filed De v l0, 1938Patented Oct. 29, 1940 UNITED STATES ROTARY 'roormsiwsn Arthur F.Primer, Oklahoma City, Okla., Ibbie L. Pruner administratrix of theestate of said Arthur F. Pruner, deceased Application December 10, 1938,Serial No. 24459124w 2 claims. (C115-27) This invention relates toimprovements in toothbrushes, and more particularly to toothbrushes inwhich the bristles are mounted in a wheel or rotor and are adapted toenter and remove foreign matter from between the interstices between theteeth as the brush is reciprocated horizontally.

The conventional toothbrush with fixed bristles can only be made toenter and clean the spaces between the teeth by moving the brushvertically, which, to the average individual, is either entirely toomuch trouble or is beyond the realm of his knowledge. As a consequencethe conventional toothbrush used by the average individual does 1`5' notproperly clean between the teeth. When the fixed bristle brush isreciprocated horizontally over the teeth, the flexible bristles simplypass over the outer surface of the teeth and do not penetrate theinterstices between the teeth.

The chief object of this invention, therefore, is to overcome the abovementioned diiculties, and to enable the average individual to properlyclean his teeth as he moves his toothbrush horizontally across histeeth, which is the ordinary 25 and most natural movement for brushingany article.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of this classwhich is of simplified construction and embodies a rotatable bristledbrush which is easily removable for cleaning or replacement.

A further object of my invention is to provide a toothbrush which notonly is possessed of these special attributes, but which is alsopossessed of the usual attributes of simplicity, cheapness ofmanufacture and reliability.

The details in the construction of a preferred form of my invention,together with other objects attending its production, will be betterunderstood 40 from the following detailed description when read inconnection with the accompanying drawing, which is chosen forillustrative purposes only, and in which,

Figure 1 illustrates the manner of holding and using my improved rotarybrush;

Figure 2 is a View illustrating the manner in which the serrated surfaceof my rotary brush enters the spaces between the teeth adjacent thegums;

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a portion of the brush which I chooseto call the brush head;

Figure 4 is a perspective View of the rotatable brush; and,

Figure 5 is a view of the assembled brush, certain parts being insection to illustrate certain preferred details of construction. y

Like characters of reference designate like parts in all the gures. I

As will be seen from the drawing, my toothbrush comprises three mainelements, namely, a` brush head which is designated as a whole by thenumeral 6; a` rotatable wheel-like brush, which is designated as a wholeby the numeral 1; and a handle 8.

The brush head includes a pair of substantially semi-circular parallelside Walls S and Il) which are spaced apart by an integral peripheralwall I I. Each of the side walls 9 and I Il are preferably provided withaligned substantially-semicircular offset portions I2 and I3 which serveto rotatably receive the opposite ends of/"a bristle holding rotor I4,which will be hereinafter described.

Near their approximate center lines the Side walls 9 and I are providedwith aligned opposite axle sockets I5 and I6 which serve to journal theopposite ends of an axle I1 on which the rotor I4 is mounted.

The peripheral wall I I of the brush head is provided with a threadedlateral handle connection which is divided longitudinally into twosemicylindrical portions I8 and I9, the base of each half of thisconnection being rigidly connected in any suitable manner to theperipheral wall near one of its ends. As a continuation of the divisionbetween the two handle connection parts I8 and I9, the peripheral wall II is slotted longitudinally to a point near its opposite end, the slotbeing designated by the numeral 22. This slot 22 permits the side Walls9 and I0 to be moved slightly apart to release the opposite ends of thebrush axle Il from their positions in the bearings I5 and IB, thusfacilitating the removal of the brush 'I from the brush head, forcleaning or for replacement.

The brush I comprises a cylindrical rotor I4 in the peripheral surfaceof which are mounted a I The rotor I4 is mounted on an axle l1, the endsof which project a short distance from either end of the rotor and areadapted to be journaled in the bearings I5 and I6 of the brush head. The

size of the brush head'is, of course, sufficient topermit the freerotation ofthe brush 1 therein.

In assembling the toothbrush, after the brush V'l hasbeen rotatablypositioned between the side walls of .the brush head', as justexplained, the twovhalv'e's of the handle connection are manuallypressed together and linserte-cl into the threaded end of the handle 8andthe handle 8 is then screwed tightly on to the brush head'.

' This handle 8 naturally holds the side Walls 9 and lll of the brushhead rigidly positioned with relation to each other, whichpositioningnaturally prevents the accidental or inadvertent removal of the brush 'lfrom` the head. v

As previously mentioned the toothbrush `is moved in horizontal mannerback and forth across-the teeth, the brush l being forced to rotate byitsv Contact with the teeth.. The long serrations 2'0 of the brush are`preferably spaced apart a distance so that adjacent ones will enter vtheinterstices at the opposite sides of each tooth, While the shortserrations 2! contact the outer surface of each tooth. 'I'he operationis repeated on the inside surface of the teeth. By placing the peripheryofthe brush 'l adjacent the gums While I have described and illustrateda specie embodiment of my invention, I am aware that numerousalterations and changes may be made therein and I do not wish to belimited except by the prior art and by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1..As an article of manufacture, a toothbrush comprising: a hollowsubstantially semi-cylindrical brush head; a rotatable brush having aserrated peripheral bristled surface journaled in side walls of saidbrush head, alternate ones of the serrated portions of said bristledsurface being of greater length than the intermediate serrated portionsthereof; and a handle removably attached to said brush head, thelongitudinal axis of said handle being substantially at right angles tothe axis of rotation of said brush.

2. As. an article of manufacture, a toothbrush comprising: a hollowsubstantially semi-cylindri cal brush head having two parallelsemi-circular side walls spaced apart by an integral peripheral wall; alongitudinal slct in said peripheral wall extending from one of its endsto a point near its other end; a threaded substantially cylindricallongitudinally bisected laterally projecting han dle connection rigidlyattached to said peripheral wall, the base of each portion beingimmediately adjacent the open end of the longitudinal slot in saidperipheral wall; an elongated handle having a threaded bore in one ofits ends, said bore adapted to receive said bisected laterallyprojecting handle connection; and a substantially wheel-like brushremovably journaled for free rotation between the side walls of saidbrush head.

ARTHUR F. PRUNER.

